From left, Green Bay Packers defensive linemen Gabe Wilkins (98), Santana Dotson (71) and Gilbert Brown (93) surround San Francisco 49ers running back Garrison Hearst (20) during the first half of the NFC championship game at Candlestick Park in San Francisco on Jan. 11, 1998. The Packers won 23-10. File/Press-Gazette Media

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Press-Gazette Media

If not for their loss to the Minnesota Vikings in the regular-season finale, there’s a good chance the Green Bay Packers would be hosting the San Francisco 49ers in a divisional playoff game at Lambeau Field this weekend instead of the other way around.

But it’s unlikely the Packers are kicking themselves for having to play Saturday’s game in San Francisco rather than Green Bay.

The Packers have proven they are capable of winning on the road, especially in the playoffs.

In postseason games away from Lambeau Field, coach Mike McCarthy and quarterback Aaron Rodgers have teamed up to post an impressive 4-1 record.

The Packers can also lean on their playoff history against the 49ers for some support. The Packers have beaten the 49ers twice in San Francisco in the playoffs, once in an NFC divisional game in January 1996 and again in January 1998 in the NFC championship game.

The Packers should have won a third playoff game in San Francisco in January 1999, but officials didn’t call a Jerry Rice fumble on the 49ers' final drive, which led to a last-second, game-winning touchdown pass from Steve Young to Terrell Owens.

Recent NFL postseason history also shows that playoff teams in the 49ers’ position, coming off a bye and playing at home, don’t have an advantage.

Since the 2005 season, No. 1 and No. 2 seeds, even with the benefit of playing in front of the home crowd and getting an extra week of rest, are just 14-14 in divisional playoff games.

Worthy's comeback

Crutches leaning against his locker and left leg extended, Jerel Worthy perused his cell phone while his Packers teammates celebrated their 24-10 wild-card win over the Vikings on Saturday night.

Unable to play with the severe knee injury he sustained a week earlier against the Vikings, the 6-foot-2, 308-pound rookie defensive lineman never had been in this position before.

Worthy made 38 starts during his three years at Michigan State and never missed a game when the Packers nabbed him in the second round of last April’s draft.

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Outside of a concussion that sidelined him for two weeks, Worthy played as many snaps as any other defensive lineman on the roster this season.

Worthy had to be carted off the Metrodome field after his knee buckled on the final drive of the Packers’ eventual 37-34 loss to the Vikings in the regular-season finale.

A few days later, the Packers ruled him out for the remainder of the season. Team doctors still are waiting for the swelling to go down before making a final determination, but Worthy is hopeful it’s only a serious bone bruise rather than a torn anterior cruciate ligament.

“I was a little hurt because it was the last series of Week 17 and everything,” Worthy said. “Me personally, I don’t miss games a lot. I never missed a game in college, so I’m always thinking positively that I’ll be able to bounce back.”

Worthy, who left after his junior year with the Spartans, finished his rookie year with 14 tackles with 2˝ sacks and one forced fumble.

Punting advantage

Packers punter Tim Masthay didn’t have his best game against the Vikings on Saturday night. He punted eight times with averages of 37.8 (gross) and 34.6 (net).

“I thought he was inconsistent,” special teams coach Shawn Slocum said. “I thought he’s had better nights punting, although he had three inside the 20, which I thought was good … but he had three that I thought he could have hit better.”

Temperatures in the 20s and Lambeau Field’s swirling winds could have been one reason for Masthay’s struggles, although Vikings punter Chris Kluwe had a gross average of 49.6 and a net of 46.2 on five punts.

“Tim’s fine,” Slocum said. “He’s fighting the weather, fighting the elements, and some days are better than others.”

The Packers will face one of the better punters in the NFL in Andy Lee, who averaged 48.1 yards per punt this season (No. 3 in the NFL) and was tied for the best net average (43.2). Lee was also third in the NFL with 36 punts placed inside the 20-yard line.

“Andy’s a heck of a punter,” Slocum said. “He’s a Pro Bowl-caliber punter and he has the ability to change the field.”

Masthay was No. 26 in the NFL in gross average (42.9) this season, No. 22 in net average (38.9) and No. 7 in punts inside the 20 (30).